The Werewolf, the Witch and the Shrieking Shack
by Roxy-Bluff
Summary: Dramione, 6th year,AU. Dumbledore and Voldemort discovered the existence of an immense magical power sourse that could help to defeat the opponent. Who will reach it first? And what it has to do with Draco? "So how does it feel Malfoy,to be a mudblood yourself?"
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys! If you've already read the previous version of this chapter I strongly recommend you to read it again, because I've added a new plot line, so the chapter is kind of different.**

**If you read this for the first time, I hope you like it. Read and Review, it's really important to me to know what you think.**

**Rated M for future chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

_I cannot find a way to describe it_

_It's there inside _

_All I do is hide _

_I wish that it would just go away _

_What would you do _

_You do if you knew _

_What would you do _

_Avril Lavigne – Take me away._

Draco Malfoy woke up in the morning with a terrible headache. His mouth was dry and sore. What happened last night? He didn't remember exactly just a few pictures of yesterday came across his mind. Well, at least he was in his own bedroom not somewhere else. He got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom.

Red-eyed, pale and grim guy stared back at Draco from the bathroom mirror. He splashed cold water onto his face. And then saw something on his left forearm. Looking closely it appeared to be fresh scars, wounds not completely healed. What the hell was that? Draco didn't remember. Every thought made a throbbing sensation in the back of his head. He roared. He has to find a potion as quick as possible.

One flick of fingers and a house-elf brings you whatever you need. Sometimes he wondered how it's like to be a muggle with no magic, no house-elves, nothing special at all. He liked his life the way it was. He was rich, handsome and pure-blooded. What else could a guy wish for? Maybe for a hangover went away and the pain subsided.

**XXX**

After breakfast Draco apparated to the Diagon Alley. He needed to buy some new books, potion ingredients and other stuff for the 6th year at Hogwarts.

After taking anti-hangover potion he felt better but still a little dizzy. The sickness and headache didn't make his mood any better, so he was irritated and ready to fight. Shop keepers seemed dull, people walking through the street seemed annoying, everything was disturbing. Draco bought all the things he needed and was going to leave when suddenly he felt really sick. He thought he was going to throw up just like this. The heir of one of the richest families of the wizarding world pukes in the middle of the shop alley. What a shame. Dark spots fulfilled his mind, everything went black and Malfoy almost fainted when someone put a hand onto his shoulder from behind and soft feminine voice asked:

"Are you alright, sir?" that voice sounded familiar but he couldn't recognize it through this mind-twisting mist. The voice spoke again. "Are you alri.. Malfoy?" And then the flicker of recognition enlightened his cloudy conscience. He slowly turned around.

"Fuck off, mudblood." He almost choked out. She seemed startled but quickly recovered.

"I'd love to. Don't think your vomit is as pure as your blood is." She spitted out in disgust and walked away into the opposite direction from him. He threw up into the nearest garbage can almost immediately.

He got really drunk last night. He wanted to forget everything that happened, to relax, to shake the stress off.

_Flashback._

_Lucius walked into Draco's room to tell him everything was ready for the initiation._

"_Draco, my son, come with me, we shouldn't be late for the ceremony."_

"_Father," Draco called out his voice slightly broken. "I wanted to talk to you about this.. ceremony."_

"_There's no time to talk, Draco."_

"_But, father, I…"_

"_No buts. Come on."_

"_Father, I don't want to take the Mark." Draco said quickly. Lucius stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. Draco could feel the air becoming thick with tension. Here comes the thunder._

"_What?" it seemed like Lucius's eyes could burn acid holes in his son's body._

"_I don't want to take the Mark." Draco repeated a bit louder. He was mentally ready for everything the next minutes would bring._

"_Listen to me_, son_, it's not about what _you_ want, it's about what's better for our family. Your life doesn't belong to _you_; it's all in Dark Lord's hands. And don't you dare say it to the Lord, do you understand?" His voice was quiet but it sounded like sonorused in Draco's ears._

"_Do you understand?" Father repeated almost hissing. Malfoy jr. just nodded in response. What was he supposed to do? To oppose his own father? He couldn't do it as this incident showed him. But what then?_

_They walked through the mansion in silence. _

_The Dining room in the Malfoy-manor was full of Death Eaters. They all were summoned there to bear witness to the initiation. Draco Malfoy, the only heir of Malfoy family was taking the Mark that day. Narcissa stood in the farthest corner of the room hardly holding back the tears. She didn't want this to her only and beloved son. She didn't take the Mark and didn't understand why Draco had to. She asked her husband about it but he just shoved her off or yelled at her that it was "not her bloody business". He scared her so much the past months. He became obsessed with serving the Lord. Probably Voldemort had twisted Lucius's mind because he was totally not the person she got married to. And her son, her Draco, her beautiful little boy grew up into handsome young man and for what? Only to be disfigured by that dirty scull tattoo._

_Unlike Narcissa, Bellatrix was so excited she couldn't even stand on the same spot for a few seconds. She was teaching her nephew the Dark Arts the whole summer and now was dying with anticipation to show her Lord how hard she worked to train a perfect Death Eater._

_When Draco and Lucius entered the room everyone went silent except for Bella. She rushed to the boy and started to whisper in his ear some nasty thing about how "good" it is to be a Death Eater. Maybe it was the last drop that made him cross the line._

_Draco remembered how his stomach twitched into knots when Voldemort arrived, how weak his knees were when Lord asked him to step closer, how sweaty his palms were when he heard his father saying, "My Lord," Lucius bowed. "As you know, here's my son Draco."_

"_Ah, I see…" his voice was low like hissing but everyone were deathly silent afraid to miss even a word. The blond remembered how every single inch in his gut trembled when Voldemort said:_

"_Is there something you want to tell me, Draco?" This is it. It's now or never._

"_Yes, my Lord." Draco bowed and stepped closer to the Voldemort's chair more like a throne. His voice sounded foreign to him. He felt like he was watching the act from aside. When he says what he intends to it surely will be a show of a century. And he's got tickets to the front row. _

"_I think I shouldn't take the Mark. The Headmaster will know about it and won't let me into Hogwarts this year. As I assume you wanted one of the Death Eaters to be in Hogwarts and who's better then a sixth year student. But if I'm not permitted to attend it all will be in vain and…" Everyone in the room fell so quiet it seemed like they even stopped breathing. Lucius turned incredibly pale like something's sucked all of his blood out of his face. In the creepy silence Voldemort's voice sounded like a thunder._

"_You _think_?" he sounded very calm and fake-kind like he was talking to some cute naughty child. "So you think, Draco my boy, what's good for my plans and what's not… how nice of you…" he stroked his snake's skin and looked like he forgot about everyone's existence. No one dared to move even a finger. Finally the Lord started to talk again._

"_Well, maybe you're right… You know Draco, you're a smart boy and maybe I'll give you another task." Draco's eyes widened in disbelief. Was that really happening? He refused to obey the Dark Lord and wasn't killed right after. Maybe he's already dead and burning in hell. Or in heaven? Nevermind. Wait, another task, what task?_

"_Not long ago I've found out something really amusing. Do you like legends, Draco?"_

"_Le-legends?" he gulped._

"_Yes. You know old stories about incredible things. I've read one recently, and there was something that caught my attention. You know, Draco, disobeying my orders is really dangerous for everyone, not talking about someone so young like you. But I am kind of impressed by such boldness. That's why I didn't kill you right on the spot." Now everyone could hear stern tones in his voice which meant the Lord was furious. "So, since you don't want to have a new tattoo," his words were poisoned with sarcasm, "I'll give you another task. You have to complete it by the end of the school year. If you don't, you'll die. And no one could help you then. You'll get the details later." With these words he waved his hand showing Draco he's dismissed._

_Draco still didn't know how that happened. He had a chance to survive, maybe if he makes it in time, he will be alive and unmarked. At least he hoped so. But it didn't prevent his father from outburst. After the ceremony when everyone left they had a terrible raw. And the only thing that kept them from real duel was Narcissa coming into the room and begging them to stop. Although she didn't show it she was happy her boy, her son remained clear, unmarked and she was secretly proud of how brave he was to talk to Voldemort the way he did._

_Lucius told his son a lot of nasty things, one of them still throbbing in his thoughts like it was printed in the back of his head._

"_At Hogwarts you'll be alone. I will help you no longer. Disobeying my orders and Dark Lord's orders makes you a shame for a Malfoy name. If you have any problems you will solve them all by yourself. Oh, and while fulfilling the task try to be a lesser pathetic excuse for a son then you already are." After saying this, his father went out of the room showing it was the end of conversation._

_Contradictory feelings tore Draco inside out. All he wanted right now was to drink himself senseless. He owled a few mates and levitated a box of finest firewhiskey into the nearest forest where they always had their drinking parties._

_End of flashback._

**XXX**

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting in the compartment of Hogwarts Express.

"I'm telling you, Malfoy is a Death Eater." Harry said in a hushed tone. Ron and Hermione stared back at him with hesitation on their faces.

"Why would You-know-who need Malfoy in his squad, he's just a coward." Ron said. Hermione fixed the book on her lap and supported her red headed friend.

"Yes, Harry. It doesn't make any sense. Besides I saw him in a Diagon Alley, he was throwing up in a trashcan. That doesn't look like he's a big bad self-satisfied Death Eater. And actually, you were going to tell us something Dumbledore told you."

"Oh, yeah, almost forgot." And Harry told them how the headmaster took him with him to persuade professor Slughorn to go back to Hogwarts. "And you know, he also told me something weird. He said it might be important, although I don't think so. For me it just sounds ridiculous. He gave me a parchment with some poem written on it. The poem says about some unknown power that can make its owner the strongest and undefeatable person. Here, have a look." And Harry pulled a parchment out of his pocket. It was yellow and looked really old. There was a poem written in beautiful intricate letters.

_It's not evil, it's not good_

_You should open to have it understood._

_The nature of its power_

_Like the highest tower,_

_You can see the bottom,_

_But can not see the top,_

_Maybe you should follow _

_The leading of your heart._

_The only key to open_

_The reddish oа the white,_

_The words that left unspoken,_

_Don't leave it all behind._

_Once opened the container_

_Possess it really well,_

'_Cause the magic of a filler_

_Can consume you fast as hell._

_If you're not strong enough_

_To keep it in the line,_

_Then bad end of everything_

_Will be your dime._

_Red drops of white creation_

_Of all the mighty Merlin_

_Can be the answer to how_

_Open it and handle._

_The one that stays forbidden_

_But still you can't avoid,_

_Attraction of its magic_

_That helps you make your choice._

_It's not good but it's not evil either_

_The neutral power's fever,_

_It could bring the whole world_

_to your knees._

_But don't be tricked by overwhelming bliss_

_It's twisted, be alarmed,_

_Luckily it carefully charmed._

"Dumbledore told me it was found by muggle archeologists out there somewhere, don't remember exactly. They thought it was just an ancient legend and put it in the museum. But the Ministry checks all the museums for magical artifacts, because sometimes muggles find something dangerous. And to prevent horrible accidents there's at least one wizard working in the museum, Ministry's agent. And no long ago that agent brought this parchment to the Ministry. Dumbledore thinks it might be serious." Harry said after they read the poem.

"It doesn't make any sense. Honestly, Harry, I don't think it can be useful. It's just some old legend; there are tons of the likes of it in any library of a wizarding world." Hermione shrugged.

"Wait, it says _"The one that stays forbidden",_ maybe it's in the forbidden forest! I think it's some kind of the box or something." Ron interrupted.

"You mean like Pandora's casket?" Hermione looked at him with expression on her face like he suddenly said something smart.

"What?" Harry looked confused.

"Yes! Exactly, like Pandora's casket. You know the one where all sins were locked. And once Pandora opened it, they were freed and spread all over the world. And this container is like the casket. If you open it, the inner power can destroy you, if you're not strong enough. Dumbledore wants to find the casket?"

"Well, he's the most powerful wizard I know, so I think he's able to handle it. Maybe it will help to defeat You-know-who." Hermione said.

"Wow, you guys are awesome. What would I do without you?" Harry looked pleased while fixing his glasses with forefinger.

"Silly things, of course." Hermione smiled and patted Harry on his knee.

**XXX**

The sorting hat sang her song and first-years were now defined to their faculties. Dumbledore introduced a new Potions Professor, who as Harry had said was Horace Slughorn. And now D.A.D.A. Professor was Snape. It didn't actually cheered students up, because everybody remembered how he treated everyone on his Potions classes.

During the Feast they had a lot of fun, making jokes on their fellow Gryffindors. Ron brought some things made by Weasley twins. That's how Dean Thomas grew a tongue ten inches long.

"Very funny, Ronald." Ginny scolded. How was she supposed to kiss her boyfriend now? She poked Ron in the ribs, but he just laughed in response just like Harry and Hermione.

Ron was so cute when he laughed. Hermione looked at him and a warm feeling sprawled up her chest. Being near him, laughing with him felt like.. felt like home. She started to think like this when she visited the Burrow this summer. She loved Weasley family and wanted to become a part of it someday. She had a secret thought that she never told anyone about. Someday she would marry Ron and they would be a happy family with red headed children and a cozy house with little garden. And Ron with their son would throw away the gnomes and Molly would send them pies on the weekends. She didn't know when she started to think about Ron as a guy to date. But since that moment it became a little awkward for her to be alone with him with no one else around. She started to worry about how she looks like and was dying from jealousy when Ron and Harry discussed some girl's legs around her. She hoped that maybe this year everything would be different. She caught Ron's staring at her a few times and when he noticed her looking back he turned away flushing. What if he liked her too? She liked the way he smiled, the way he ran his hand through his hair and the way his face lighten up when he won in magic chess. Ron. Sweet, warm Ron.

Looking around the Great Hall she glanced at the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy. He looked very gloomy and out of place. Like he wasn't even there and didn't pay any attention to what was going on around him. He was deeply lost in thoughts.

What was he thinking about? Apparently not about something pleasant because he didn't eat much and looked really pale like he was sick. "Well, maybe he _was_ sick," she thought. That was very odd. And why didn't Harry notice anything? He always watched for Malfoy's actions closely because he suspected him to be connected with Death Eaters or maybe even being one of them himself. But now when Malfoy acted really weird Harry didn't even glanced at him once.

Maybe he realized that it was just stupid and decided to let it go.

**XXX**

"_Don't get lost in the forest." His drunken friend shouted and laughed at his stupid attempt to joke._

"_I'm going to take a leak not camping." Draco answered in the same drunken tone. His friend burst out laughing because Draco's wit was definitely better than his._

_Malfoy was going through the trees to find a proper one to satisfy his needs. And then he heard some noise behind him._

"_Mark, is that you? Oh, very funny. I'm sooo scared." He mocked. But no one answered back. That was a little creepy but Draco was too drunk to think about it. He almost unbuckled his pants. Stupid buckle didn't seem to obey his stumbling fingers. And then out of nowhere a huge monster jumped up on Malfoy. He reacted by putting his arms to his head in useless attempt to cover himself but monster bit his forearm and pulled…_

Draco sat up on the bed shivering. What a weird nightmare, but it felt so real but it couldn't have happened, right? Or could it?

He looked at his forearm. There were scars like bite marks or something like that.

"Where did I get it from? From the dream? Or was it even a dream?" Draco thought.

He really got drunk before going back to Hogwarts. But he didn't remember much about it. He wanted to drink himself unconscious. He didn't know if it was the last time he was hanging out with his friends like that. After that raw with his father he doubted everything could be the same again. So he was drinking to forget. And he really forgot.

"Well done, Malfoy. Mission accomplished" he smirked bitterly because right now all he wanted was to remember what the hell happened. Was that monster's attack real or was it just a nightmare?

He fell onto the pillows but couldn't even close his eyes till dawn.

The next morning Hermione was running through the corridor because she was a bit late for the first class period, when suddenly she bumped into someone. She lifted her eyes up and it was Malfoy standing in front of her. His face was cringed in pain and he was holding his left forearm right exactly the place she hit him with her books.

"Watch it, mudblood!" he hissed.

"You too, ferret." And she rushed to her class again. Pain in the left forearm, a Dark Mark? What are you hiding Malfoy? Thoughts flooded her mind.

**XXX**

Gryffindors also shared Hagrid's class _Care of magical creatures_ with Slytherins. Hermione asked Hagrid about his new creatures like as she was extremely interested and that won Hagrid's heart. Hermione liked Hagrid for his kindness and gift for handling various magical monsters with ease. So she always tried to make him happy. That's why he told her and then Harry and Ron supposed-to-be-a-secret task from Dumbledore. Hagrid was to go and find some special creature for Headmaster and that will take a few days. So he asked his friends to come in the evening to his cabin and feed the Fang. They agreed.

Later that day at the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey guys! Don't you think it's time to feed the Fang?" Hermione asked in a cheered tone.

"Erm…Hermione, you see.. erm.. here's a thing… I'm a captain of our quidditch team this year and we decided to have a practice today to check our shape. Ron and I can't go with you to feed Hagrid's dog. Sorry." Harry stammered a little blushing and adjusting his glasses.

"What? Harry you can't do that! We promised Hagrid!"

"Oh c'mon, Hermione! Think about it. This is our last year, last chance to win the Quidditch Cup and last chance to become a part of Hogwarts' History" said Harry.

"Harry, you already _are_ a part of Hogwarts' History. There's no doubt that _Hogwarts: A History_ will be republished with your photo on the top cover." With these girl's words Ron's cheeks turned bright crimson because this was _his_ only chance to become a part of a history, and not as The Boy-who-lived sidekick but as quidditch player, successful keeper. Why wouldn't Hermione understand that? That there's life is going on around, not everything's spinning around books and study. There's a lot of more important things then lessons and homework and definitely more important then feeding that stupid dog. Things like social status, popularity, and girls. Ron wanted all of that. And quidditch was his only chance.

"Oh, please, Hermione, it's just a dog! I think you can feed him without our help." Ron finally managed to say.

"Ronald," Hermione send him a death glare. "It's not fair! You can't give up your promise just because of some stupid game."

"It's not just any game! You don't understand!" Ron tried to object.

Hermione was glaring daggers at the boys but they didn't react and just looked wherever they could to avoid her eyes.

It always was really annoying for Hermione that she couldn't be good at flights, that a broom just wouldn't obey her. And the fact that her friends liked to fly and were good at it always made her feel like she's missing something, something important, that she can't be a part of their quidditch life.

"You know what? Fine! You're right. I don't need your help to keep my promise to a _friend_!" She stressed the last word as if to show them who's her real friend now and stormed out of the common room.

**XXX**

"Oh great! Just great! Stupid practice, stupid quidditch, stupid Ron!" She was furious, her nostrils flared as she was walking fast through the castle to Hagrid's Hut.

She didn't want to come early knowing she would be alone in the common room and especially after her friends ditched her. So she stayed at Hagrid's place for quite long time, talking to herself and to Fang trying to calm down. When she was about to leave it was half an hour before curfew. She almost went out the door when she saw Malfoy walking to the Forbidden Forest. She decided to wait until he come farther because didn't want any confrontation with him alone outside the castle. Not that she was afraid of him but any conversation with him wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world.

She kept watching him through the window when suddenly dark clouds vanished and full moon lighten up the grounds. And then Malfoy collapsed and started to shake like some inner forces worked within his body trying to tear him to shreds. He cringed in different angles and Hermione wondered how it is even possible not to break anything. But she kept watching strangely mesmerized by the view. His shoulders went broader, limbs grew longer and every part of his body transformed into something animal-like and now his skin was covered with short silver fur. When he got up from the ground Hermione gasped in shock and stepped back from the window in horror.

Outside of Hagrid's Hut stood a silver-furred werewolf.

**A/N: So, how was it? Please Review=)**

**~Roxy x**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey there! Make sure you've read a new version of the 1st chapter.**

**Disclaimer: "Harry Potter" doesn't belong to me. If it did, I would make D. L. Malfoy more courageous.**

_You've become a part of me _

_(You'll always be right here) _

_(You've become a part of me) _

_(You'll always be my fear) _

_(I can't separate) _

_(Myself from what I've done) _

_(Giving up a part of me) _

_(I've let myself become you) _

_Linkin Park – Figure 09_

Draco Malfoy woke up in the morning with a terrible headache and burning pain all over his body. He stretched out on his bed and realized that pain didn't go anywhere. He looked down his body; it was all covered with scratches and bruises. What the hell happened last night? He remembered that he definitely was okay before going to bed. But… how did he get into his bedroom? He remembered how he ate at the Great Hall, sat in the common room and talked to Blaise and Pansy, but then… What happened next? He didn't remember, except for that weird dream he had.

He was running through the forest, his vision blurred, everything looked so strange and he felt hunger, a terrible hunger like he'd never felt before. It was like he wasn't entirely himself but someone different, something… feral. But now he's in his own bed in the Slytherin bedroom lying under the covers with no clothes on. Why would he be naked? He always slept in a pair of boxer shorts. What's going on? He had a feeling something was wrong the last two days, but he couldn't put a finger on what it was exactly. Maybe it's just someone's cruel joke or maybe it has something to do with Voldemort. Maybe the Dark Lord is twisting with his mind, trying him, checking if he was able to resist and complete the task he prepared for him.

**XXX**

Harry Potter woke up in a bad mood. He had nightmares tormenting him till dawn and after waking up he was not the best person to have a chit-chat.

It was Voldemort in his nightmares and Harry was always angry afterwards, every time he saw snake-eyed wizard stalking him even in his sleep. Harry headed to the bathroom and after brushing his teeth and coming back to the dorm, he found Ron already awake and complaining about early morning class periods.

"Morning, Harry" said Ron yawning.

"Morning" Harry murmured in response.

"What's our first class today? History of Magic? Damn, I forgot to write that stupid summer essay about goblins' riot or whatever it was supposed to be about. How do you think, will Hermione help me with that? Especially after yesterday's crap about feeding the dog? She probably would start again her usual stuff about how it's important to study, how it's unfair to look through other's assignments and what's written in the books." Ron continued his talking on the way out of the dorm. When they were on the stairs that ended straight in the common room Harry cut Ron off.

"I don't care what's written in those damn books! Why wouldn't Hermione understand that I don't care about every single word she read about!" _Cause it doesn't help to defeat Voldemort, to stop that pain in my scar, to get rid of those nightmares. _Harry added in his mind. But in that exact second he turned his head and saw Hermione sitting by the fire reading a huge book.

Ron's face changed into guilty expression.

"Do you think she heard?" he whispered in Potter's ear.

"Hope not." Suddenly Harry felt very bad for saying such harsh things about his friend. "Good morning, Hermione," he made a weak smile. "What are you reading?"

"Morning, Harry, Ron. Oh, it's nothing. How was your practice yesterday?" she asked in a fake cheered tone.

"Erm, great, thanks for asking. We are sorry for not going to Hagrid's with you."

"Oh, it's no big deal. Don't worry about it. Let's go to the Great Hall. I'm starving." And with these words Hermione went out of the Portrait Hole. Guys followed her.

"It seems she didn't hear a thing." Ron relaxed realizing he might get a chance to have girl's help with his essay.

"Yeah." But deep inside Harry wasn't so sure.

**XXX**

"So he doesn't care! Okay! Fine! Maybe he doesn't even care about me! Of course, the Boy-who-lived is too full of himself, the chosen one, ha! I helped him like million times and all because I've read a lot, and now he doesn't care about a single word I read! What's that supposed to mean? How Harry could think about me this way? I thought he was the one who really cared, but now it appears he doesn't. It actually hurts." Hermione thought while they were walking through the castle to the Great Hall. "Well, maybe he didn't mean it, it's just because it's morning, that's it. But Ron! How _nice_ of him! All he cares about is my essay to copy. I swear if he asks me to help him again today, I'll hex him."

When they entered the Great Hall it was half filled with students of different houses. Ginny and Dean were already sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey, guys!" Ginny greeted the trio.

"Hey, Ginny!" Hermione sat next to her. Harry and Ron sat in front of them. Plates were already filled with food and Ron didn't waste a second to eat everything provided. "So, what's up, Ginny?" Hermione asked the red-head. Since she spent some time at the Burrow girls became a little closer. Now Ginny was not only Ron's younger sister but a female kind of friend to Hermione.

"Well, we had D.A.D.A. yesterday. Never thought I would say this, but Snape was not that bad. Or maybe it's just comparing to Umbridge. He didn't even deduct points from our house, and didn't encourage Slytherins when they tried to make fun of us." Girls both looked at the Slytherin table. In the corner of her eye Hermione caught some action on the farthest end of the table. She turned her head to look and saw Malfoy eating drumstick with his hands and with such ferocity as if he wanted poor chicken to feel pain again, although it was already dead and cooked. It was _way_ too far from his usual aristocratic manners. His neighbors looked at him with a mix of disgust and confusion on their faces. Hermione looked back at Ginny, but the girl didn't seem to notice Malfoy's behavior at all. Hermione remembered what she saw last night and was seriously considering telling her friends about it right away, but…

"Hey, Mione." Ron said with a full mouth. "Have you prepared the summer essay for history class?" His goofy smile annoyed Granger to no end.

"Argh! Ronald Billius Weasley !" she said in a patronizing tone. "I will not let you look through my essay. You have to learn to do things by yourself!"

"But Mione" he tried to protest.

"Oh, and you better be thankful I didn't hex you right into full mouth of yours!" She was very angry. Why would Ron have to screw her mood up? "I have to go to class!" she stood up and walked out of the Great hall.

**XXX**

When Hermione was about to turn around the corner she heard someone's apparently having an argument in hissing tones. She looked out of the corner and saw Malfoy standing facing her with some first year standing in front of him.

"Look where you going!" Malfoy hissed through greeted teeth, his hands clenched into fists.

"I- I will" the boy stuttered being scared by Malfoy's malicious look.

Hermione saw Malfoy's eyes turned yellow and hands started to cover with fur. Apparently Malfoy also noticed those things and hurriedly put his hands into his pockets and shooed the first-year to run away as far as possible. He looked around for witness and Hermione quickly backed into the shadow of the corner. She heard Malfoy's footsteps going to the opposite direction from her.

Her heart was hammering in the ribcage like crazy. She saw it again. What should she do about it? Tell someone? But it wasn't her secret to tell but Malfoy's… but he's not her friend… so what? But he could be dangerous for the others… but only when it's a full moon… Contradictory thoughts clouded her brain. She decided to think about it later and hurried to the History of magic classroom.

Draco was walking down the corridor heading to the quidditch locker rooms. What the hell happened to him? That stupid first-year had run right into him and hit him hard on the knee. Draco felt a rush of pain and anger rise up within him. That was odd. He also felt some kind of a burning sensation in his palms. Looking down he saw his hands were covering with fur. What the fuck is going on with him? He quickly hid his furring palms in his pockets not wanting the first-year to notice. But the boy was so scared he couldn't even move. Great! What kind of reputation he has? Horrid Draco Malfoy eats innocent babies at dinner? But maybe it wasn't that bad after all. That was a guarantee that a boy won't tell anyone about this encounter in case he noticed Draco's hands.

**XXX**

The first class period was free for most of the teammates, so Slytherins decided to have a quidditch practice this morning. By the time Draco got to the lockers his hands were fine. It cheered him up a bit. And anticipation of flying also made his mood a little better. He was a seeker of the team and was going to beat Potter at the first school match in November. So that meant he had to practice a lot. And since Dark Lord hasn't sent him any details of his task yet Draco had his time all for himself. Flying always made him feel totally free and happy. It was the only thing in the world he enjoyed most, even more than sex. Because sometimes some stupid bimbo just didn't want to sod off and it annoyed him. But the broom was the only "girl" he didn't want to leave and the only one he always came back for.

The practice started, all members of the team were up in the air and all the balls were free from their boxes. Draco was hovering above the pitch looking for the golden snitch. He somehow felt the danger coming from the right side. He turned around to see a bludger moving fast right into his face. It was almost impossible to back away. And if the bludger hit him he would definitely spent the rest of the season in a hospital wing. In one swift moment his hand flew up and hit the bludger so it changed its direction and flew into stands making series of cracking holes on the way.

"Hey, are you alright?" Blaise got near him.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"Okay. Wow that was hard, mate. You almost crashed the whole pitch down." He paused a second. "Are you on something?" a knowing smirk appeared on Blaise's face.

"No, I'm not. What made you think so?" Draco was irritated. So he hits the bludger and it makes a few holes, not a big deal.

"I've never seen you being so strong before."

"I grew up. That's it. We should go back to the game, you know. And I'm not on anything."

"Yeah, sure, If you say so." Blaise said although he didn't sound very convinced.

The rest of the practice went normal without any incidents.

**XXX**

Ask anyone and you'll be told that the History of magic was the most boring lesson ever existed. And this year Gryffindors had a double History. Double! Whoever made the curriculum there was no doubt he wanted students to die from boredom. Even Hermione didn't find this lesson very interesting although she made notes during Professor Binns lecture. It was always better for her to go to the library and read about all those riots and negotiations by herself.

But today she was too lost in thoughts to make notes. She came into the classroom only seconds before the bell rang, so all seats were already taken. Harry sat with Ron in the middle of the class. She was still kind of mad at them, so she sat as far away from them as possible. That's how she was sitting at the farthest desk in the back of the room.

Professor Binns started to talk in his even tone as usual. At first she tried to scribble at least a few words on the parchment but after fifteen minutes half of students were fast asleep and the other half didn't pay any attention to the lecture and were doing their homework for the next period.

Hermione put down her quill and rested her face in her palms. "Malfoy is a werewolf, who could've thought! How did it happen to him? Maybe it was Fenrir Greyback. He had some relations with Bellatrix and maybe it was Dark Lord's plan to turn Malfoy into a werewolf. But what for?" Hermione reflected. "No, it doesn't make any sense. But what then? How is it even possible for such an annoying pureblooded ass like Malfoy to become a monster, a half-breed? Like Remus Lupin." But her inner voice objected. "Oh, please, it's Malfoy we're talking about. He is in no way like Lupin. Besides he has a pureblooded piece of an arse as a father. He would do anything to keep his son to stay out of any trouble like he did all those years before. I wonder how much money it would cost to hide Malfoy's new nature. Or maybe having Dark Lord by his side would make it a lot easier. This whole situation looks like a payment, like a punishment for all these times he was being mean and snobbish and acted like a prat to every muggleborn, hating them only because of their blood status. And now he's even worse than a muggleborn. Maybe he deserved that. Turning into a monster for the rest of his life seems a good enough of a punishment for all the humiliation he ever made. It would beat him every single day, and maybe this inner battle would make him go insane eventually. Of course no one deserves to end up like that, but it's Malfoy after all. Maybe I shouldn't tell anyone, 'cause that would mean I'm not any better than him. Besides, Dumbledore will find out sooner or later anyway, just like he always does. So, there's nothing to worry about." The lesson was finally over but thinking about Malfoy, Hermione didn't hear a word from what Professor Binns was saying. So, that was the first time Hermione Granger went out the classroom without a two feet long parchment of notes.

**XXX**

"Let's go to dinner. I'm starving." Draco was changing into his school uniform after practice.

"Yeah, me too." Blaise said putting his sweater on.

"Hey, Draco, mate. The way you made the bludger hit the stands was totally awesome!" said Theodor Nott, who was also in the team. "If you hit Potter like that in November those Gryffin_dorks_ will have to play without a seeker for the rest of the season." He patted Draco on the shoulder and went out of the locker room.

"I don't see what the fuzz is all about. Bludger makes some holes, who cares?" Malfoy sounded annoyed.

"Well, maybe that's because it was impossible to beat back that bludger but you did. What's been up to you lately?" Blaise looked at Draco closely.

"It's nothing! Why don't you just let it go already?"

"Okay, fine. But admit it, hitting Potter would be nice." Blaise smirked.

"Yeah, it definitely would." Draco smirked in response.

**XXX**

It was Dinner time, so everybody was heading to the Great Hall. On a half way there Hermione was caught by a first-year Gryffindor girl who's name as she remembered was Lauren Hallman. Hermione was a prefect of her house and thus she had to solve any problems between young students, so it didn't surprise her when Lauren told her about a fight between the two of her friends.

Hermione and Lauren hurried to the corridor that leads to their tower. Not far away from the Fat Lady two Gryffindor boys were having an encounter. One of them was laughing like crazy and another had nose bleeding.

"Oh my god! How could you be so irresponsible? _Finite incantatem_." She canceled the tickling spell and turned to the second boy. "You're all covered with blood! Your nose is probably broken. I'll take you to the hospital wing. And I deduct 5 points for your fight."

Boys' eyes went extremely large with shock.

"But you're the prefect of _our_ house. How can you deduct points from us? It won't help us win!" Lauren whined.

"Exactly, I _am_ the prefect and that's why you should think about your behavior until I deduct more. Your irresponsibility cost out house a few points. Go to dinner and I'll take him to madam Pomfrey."

Accompanying little boy to the Hospital wing took a while, because she caught a few rule breakers on their way. And by the time she made sure the boy was safe and looked after, the dinner was almost over. So she headed straight to Potions hungry and exhausted.

"At least it's the last period and I can go to kitchen afterwards and ask house elves to give me some food."

**XXX**

"Mmm, smells like roast beef." Draco sniffed the air.

"It's like miles to the Great Hall, how can you possibly smell it from here?" Blaise looked at him suspiciously.

"I can't. Just guessing." Draco answered lamely trying to cover up.

"You know Drake, you've been acting weird lately. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm okay. Just fine." Malfoy reassured him, but deep inside he was hesitating. Blaise was right. They were too far from the Great Hall. So how could he smell food from here?

**XXX**

At the very beginning of the lesson Slughorn appeared to be in a good mood, so he decided to make this period a little different from the previous ones. He paired students up because the potion he chose for today was too hard to brew it alone. By the end of the lesson students were to give him vials with the liquid required and the answer for what was it. Slughorn called it a "Guessing game".

He paired Hermione with Neville Longbotttom. _"Just great"_ she thought. She actually liked Neville, he was always kind and nice, but facing the truth – potions wasn't exactly the thing he did best. So it meant that Hermione had to do all the work by herself and also watch for Neville so he didn't screw everything up. "_What a fucked up day."_ Apparently her grim expression made Neville feel guilty even though he didn't do anything yet.

"Hermione, so…erm…let's start?"

"Oh yeah, sure. Do you mind if I brew the liquid and you do the research? For, you know, what could it be?" as she thought if Neville don't stand up from his seat they'll have the chance to fulfill the task.

"Oh, okay," he sounded relieved.

"Great!"

Half a period has passed. Everything looked kind of fine. Neville made notes about every ingredient they had, Hermione worked on the cauldron. But not everything was as perfect as a loud noise proved it to be. Everybody's attention was now on Ron, whose hands and face were covered with supposed-to-be-a-potion substance, he screamed in pain.

That's what happens if you paired up with Simus Finnigan. He looked puzzled as if it was the first time something exploded in his hands. His hair was black with soot and eyebrows were gone. Slughorn deducted 10 points from Gryffindor and asked Harry to accompany "_Mr. Winston_" to the hospital wing.

Now when her main opponent – Harry was out of race, Hermione seriously hoped to brew the best potion. She was openly against that weird book Harry had, the one that belonged to some Half-Blood Prince. But she could do nothing to persuade Harry to return the textbook. So it annoyed her to no end when Slughorn said _Mr. Potter_ was the best in class.

So now she worked twice as hard as it was necessary. She cut everything that should be cut when she noticed she's got ran out of ingredients. At first she wanted to ask Neville to get them, but then changed her mind and decided to bring them by herself. There's no way her laziness would screw her chances to get some extra points.

Hermione was walking back to her seat from the ingredients cupboard holding ginger roots, frog legs and elf dust in her hands. In the moment she was passing by Malfoy's seat Lavender Brown popped out of nowhere and stormed to the cupboard, slightly pushing Hermione. Jars with ingredients were rather heavy and Hermione lost her balance for a few seconds, but it was enough for ginger roots to drop into Malfoy's cauldron. The liquid he was brewing started to darken and boil. In a few seconds it was spilling out in all directions including Malfoy's robes and Hermione's sleeves and table.

"Look what you've done, stupid bitch!" Malfoy hissed. "You've not only screwed up my potion, but you've ruined my new robes!"

"Oh, don't worry, ferret, daddy will buy you a dozen of new ones" she retorted.

"Don't you dare speak about my father, you filthy little mudblood!" his voice rose up a bit and now everybody in class could hear.

"And why is that? Or what, maybe he became like You-know-who so nobody can say his name out loud?" She was talking louder now too. Everybody went silent. It was known that Malfoy and Granger have their little fights here and there, but it was never in class and never insults were so audible.

"Shut up, Potter's slag!" He was furious now.

"You shut up, wannabe-a-Death-Eater!" she was pissed off too.

"What's going on?" Slughorn came out of his side room in the end of the class. "Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, students are not allowed to have quarrels in class." They glared at him but neither said a word. "So, I assume you have nothing to say in your defense?" Silence again. "Okay, Mr. Malfoy, miss Granger, you'll have to stay after class to serve detention. And I deduct 5 points from each of your houses."

Malfoy and Hermione were glaring daggers at each other but neither of them protested Slughorn's decision. The lesson time was almost over and since she dropped the ingredients into Malfoy's potion it was useless to go back to work. So, Hermione just got back to her seat and packed her stuff.

When the bell gang everybody stormed out the class, because it was the last lesson and students couldn't wait till they were free, everybody except for Draco and Hermione.

Slughorn told them to clean up the mess without using their wands. He charmed them with an anti-cheating spell and allowed them to be dismissed as soon as they finish cleaning. Then he left the classroom.

Not speaking a word Malfoy went back to his seat and as if by magic the dirt started to disappear.

"Hey, Slughorn told us we can't use out wands!" Hermione tried to protest. Draco put his hands up in a surrender-like manner.

"Do you see I'm holding my wand? He told we can't use _wands_, but he didn't say a word about wandless magic." Hermione was angry that she didn't think about it herself. But it was all Slytherin way to solve problems after all. "You know. You're incredibly thick for someone supposed to be so smart, Granger." He sneered.

"You can say all you want, Malfoy. Cheating doesn't mean you're smart."

"I didn't cheat. That's called _using the brain_, Granger," he patted his temple with forefinger. "Maybe you should try it sometime."

He cleaned up his robes and desk and turned to leave the classroom.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hermione shouted disturbed. "We didn't finish!"

"Well, I'm finished. Clean your mess by yourself."

"You can't just leave like that!"

"That's exactly what I'm doing."

"Stop or I…"

"Or what, Granger?" he turned around so fast she even jumped back a little.

"Or… I'll tell Slughorn you were cheating." She lifted her chin not wanting to look scared by the yellow glint appeared in his eyes.

"Oh, that's really Gryffindor_ish_. Blackmail. Just admit it; you don't want to dirt your hands. But if I were you I wouldn't care less. No one would see the difference. You can't be dirtier than you already are, mudblood." Okay, that's it. Now she was boiling with fury. How dare he? She didn't even notice the moment her hand flew up and slapped his face with a loud smack. His eyes turned yellow, pupils narrowed and he caught her wrist in a firm grip. She yelped in pain and they both looked at their grappled hands. Then Malfoy quickly jerked his hand away. It was covered with silver fur. He put it into the pocket of his robes and turned to leave, but Hermione spoke scoffing.

"Oh, don't hide it from me; I already know what's happening to you."

"How the hell can you know?" he snapped back.

"I've been watching you lately. And I saw you transforming. You're a werewolf."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he yelled, his nostrils flared.

"You know what. " She said crossing her hands on her chest. "Yellow eyes, hunger for meat, furred hands, transformation under the full moon's light. I saw everything."

"You're lying!" Draco shouted.

"No, I'm not. And you know it, just scared to admit it to yourself. Because then your whole life will collapse. Everything you believed in will turn on despite you. So, how does it feel, Malfoy, to be a mudblood yourself?"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" his knees cracked, he slumped down the wall and sat on the floor burying his head in hands. "Just shut up…" he continued to repeat in whisper rocking back and forth. "Just shut up."

She almost felt pity for him. He was so vulnerable right now, so not like his usual arrogant self. It must be really hard to realize that you're not like you've been before and there's no turning back ever. She didn't know what was it, maybe her Gryffindor tendency to help and protect, but she's heard herself saying although the voice didn't sound like her own.

"I… can… help you." Where did it come from?

"What?" he lifted his head after long seconds of silence that seemed like eternity. Hermione coughed to clear her throat.

"I said I think I can help you." She said a bit louder this time.

"Why would you?" bitterness in his voice was almost touchable.

"I don't know actually. But if you don't want it, I won't bother."

"Acting like merciful Gryffindor know-it-all again? I don't need your bloody help." He grunted.

"Okay, then. I better go now not to disturb your pitying yourself." She turned out to walk out of the room. "Oh, and by the way, clean up the mess, since you're so smart." With these words she left the room without looking back.

**XXX**

Next morning Hermione walked into the hospital wing to check upon Ron. His bed was in the middle of the room. Harry was already sitting right beside his friend.

"Hey, how are you?" she asked sitting in the chair.

"A bit better," Ron smiled but instead of making him look cute it turned his face into a creepy mask, because it was all covered with abscesses. "But still, I look like shit. How am I supposed to take part in selections? I wanna be in the team this year." He sounded so upset, Hermione felt very sorry for him.

"Oh, Ron, it's just a few abscesses, you'll be okay in a couple of days, just make sure to take your medicine."

"Just a few abscesses? Look at me, I look like a monster!"

"Oh, c'mon, Ron, just brewing went wrong, not a big deal, it's not like you've been bitten by a werewolf of something." Sheу was now annoyed a bit.

"Not a big deal? Look at my hands, how am I supposed to return a quaffle with hands like these?" he sounded irritated and acted like a little spoiled prat.

"You'll be wearing gloves. That's how."

"So you think it's that easy, don't you?"

"I think it's not that hard as you trying to show it." She was going to tell her friends about Malfoy but now when Ron acted like an annoying git and Harry chose to stay aside it was impossible to calm down and share a little secret like nothing happened.

"You know what? Fine! You're the most miserable person I've ever seen. Yes, your injuries are incredibly severe. And if you're going to sit here and mope all day, okay, it's your right. But I have things to do, so if you excuse me, I'll go to class." She stood up moving her chair with a loud squeak and stormed out of the hospital wing.

"I don't understand her. What's wrong with her again?" Ron looked at Harry with a puzzled expression on his face.

"I don't know, mate. Maybe _those_ days." Harry shrugged.

"Yeah, that makes sense."

**XXX**

Hermione was angry as hell while marching to her first class period. And all because of Ron. She couldn't understand why she was so pissed off with him. Every time she yelled at someone, it was Ron. Why did she do that? He was her friend after all. Maybe that was the reason. Friend. Just a friend, nothing more. Nothing's changed. He didn't pay any kind of attention to her except for a friendly one. And she couldn't deal with the fact that a guy she liked didn't take her seriously. He didn't see her as a female, as a girl to date. And that was the reason of her irritation. And even now all he could think of was quidditch. He didn't even seem to care that she came to check upon him. He was afraid he couldn't get into the team. Hermione didn't understand why he was so nervous about it having the captain as the best friend. Harry wouldn't let his best mate to stay aside. But still Ron was so thrilled about these selections. Said he looked like a monster and it was enough to leave him behind. Speaking of monsters, Malfoy was in hysterics yesterday. But that was quite understandable, his life irreversibly changed. Werewolf's bite was serious unlike some potion explosion. But Ron was as crazy as Malfoy was, although his situation was much less worse than Malfoy's.

"Well, maybe it's a sign. Maybe I shouldn't tell them, shouldn't tell anyone. It's not my secret to tell anyway." She came to a conclusion finally.

**XXX**

Draco felt a lot better that morning. No more scratches, no more nightmares. This morning was ordinary as usual. He didn't feel sick, he was perfectly fine actually. So, he decided it was just someone's prank, nothing serious.

A month has passed as usual, nothing weird happened.


End file.
